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Some concerns have been raised by Columbia Heights residents regarding the recently announced Allegro Condominium development which will go up on the former Giant Food site. Jeremy N. Rubenstein of Metro Properties, Inc., the developer of the project, has taken some time to address these concerns.
Message from Jeremy N. Rubenstein, Metro Properties, Inc.
I am writing to address a number of issues that various people have raised in connection with our planned redevelopment of the former Giant food site in Columbia Heights into the Allegro condominium. I understand that some members of the community have raised concerns about both substance and process, and would like to address these issues one by one.
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(i) |
Why is the former Giant Site not being used as a community center? As several community members have observed, several years ago various entities that did not own the former Giant Food store site made statements about the site being used as a community center. I understand why this has led to some consternation and unhappiness. However, Giant Food never owned the site, and the owner of the property was not a party to any such statements. When the property was offered for sale by its current owner, several developers bid on it. Regardless of which developer won the bidding, as a private parcel offered for sale at fair market value the former Giant site was going to be developed for commercial or residential use by whoever purchases the property. |
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(ii) |
Why did Metro Properties decide not to include retail space in the project? All things being equal, we would have liked to have included retail in the project along the street frontage. However, a key consideration was the fact that the DC USA project, which is less than 1000 feet away, is scheduled to open at the same time as our development is complete. DC USA will be a vast complex, with about 550,000 square feet of retail, much of which involved substantial public subsidy. There is a large amount of retail that remains to be leased, some of which will be offered at below market rent to local and small business entities. While I understand that some might not view it the same as we do, we were concerned both with our ability to lease the space and to obtain financing for the project with such a large amount of competitive retail space being released at the same time as we would be delivering our project. |
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(iii) |
What public subsidy/zoning relief is being sought for the Allegro project and how is that different from other nearby projects? As many members of the community are well aware, virtually all of the large development activity near the Columbia Heights metro station involved the sale of publicly owned land by NCRC at subsidized prices. In addition, each of the residential projects involved substantial zoning relief (either a PUD and/or a change in the underlying zoning classification of the relevant land) that involved the addition of many, many more “FAR” (otherwise known as the square feet of developable space) than would have been provided under the “by right” existing zoning. In contrast, Allegro is not seeking any addition to the existing legal “FAR.” We are only seeking relatively minor zoning variances to allow us to configure the building to an irregular lot and to address the recreation space requirement that applies solely to residents of the new building. |
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(iv) |
Why did Metro Properties decide not to seek PUD/Rezoning Relief? Unlike other projects that are near the Columbia Heights metro station, Allegro is substantially surrounded by residential properties. The existing C-2-A zoning provides for a 50 foot height limit, which is the exact same height limit for the surrounding residential area. Accordingly, Allegro will not have a higher height limit than neighboring properties. Rezoning or a PUD would likely have required that the project be increased in height substantially. Because we were concerned that the community would not desire a project that did not comport to the current height limit, we believed that it would be both undesirable and difficult to seek rezoning or a PUD. While this means that there are far fewer public hearings concerning the project than some of the other nearby developments, the reason for the fewer public hearings is that we are not seeking major changes to the way the land is regulated. |
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(v) |
Why is Allegro able to offer approximately 300 units without material zoning relief? The site is almost two acres in size. Thus, we are able to both stay within the FAR and height limits of current zoning requirements. |
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(vi) |
Why did earlier versions of the project only involve approximately 220 units? When we first put the former Giant site under contract late last fall, we did not have any additional land under contract. As many of you are aware, the land behind the former store consists of some pavement – a lot of which is broken and uneven – and a single story commercial building. We believed that the project and the community would benefit from the inclusion of this space. Once we were able to place the additional land under contract, we modified our plans to reflect the additional land. |
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(vii) |
Why are members of the community learning about this project now rather than earlier? As noted above, we only put the former Giant site under contract in the late fall, and did not obtain the rights to the remainder of the land until early this year. Unlike publicly subsidized transactions in which the NCRC will hold the land for a prolonged period pending development, private sellers generally expect to settle on their land promptly. While sometimes developers purchase the land well in advance of development, typically this is done only when there is a large “upside” such as rezoning or a PUD that will substantially increase the value of a parcel, thus “paying” for delay. Otherwise it is typically much too costly in the current economic environment. Thus, we are moving promptly. We provided the revised plans that reflect the enlarged site both to the BZA and to the ANC member in whose district the site is located immediately after they were done, which was only a few weeks ago. |
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(viii) |
What are the benefits of the project? As many of you have noted, transit oriented development is highly desirable in an urban environment. This project manages to bring a large number of homes very close to the existing metro station and upcoming retail development while staying within the height and square footage limits of existing zoning requirements. Many people have addressed the financial benefits of this type of development to the District of Columbia, so I will not repeat those arguments here. While I understand that not everyone would have designed the project exactly in the way that we have done it, this is exactly the type of property for which the current zoning is intended (the C-2-A zone is a mixed use zone that can be developed either as residential or commercial). The development of the property also meets the intent of the District of Columbia Generalized Land Use Policies Map which designates the area of the property as a "housing opportunity area" and "development opportunity area". Additionally, the new construction will contribute to the redevelopment and revitalization of the Columbia Heights neighborhood. We providing new, high quality housing stock and are not displacing any residents of current housing, creating what I believe is a win/win situation. |
I truly believe that Allegro will be a wonderful addition to Columbia Heights, and hope that this begins to address some of the questions that people have.
Jeremy N. Rubenstein
Metro Properties, Inc.
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